


Unprepared

by SnappleNinja



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Bitterness, Depression, Diary, F/M, Hunted, Mourning, Murder, Mystery, Regret, Rocky Dangerbuff, Snake Jaguar, Undercover, denied love, please enjoy lol, this is my first fic on here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-07-12 15:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15998489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnappleNinja/pseuds/SnappleNinja
Summary: It's been two weeks since Hunted.  It's been two months since the Sons of Garmadon showed up.  It's been over a year since Wu was lost in time.  Now, things are different.  Garmadon and the SoG are in prison, Ninjago is at peace again, and the team is all back together, including Wu.  The team tells Lloyd that everything is fine now and that there's nothing to worry about, but he isn't so sure.  After finding Harumi's old diary in the Royal Palace, he's whisked into a journey that he never could have prepared for.





	1. Which Way Now?

“Hey, Cole!” Jay yelled at the top of his lungs as he threw a Frisbee into the air. The wind blew against it quietly as it continued to gain air before finally descending. “Catch that!”

Cole, Master of Earth, nodded to his Lightning Ninja friend and vaulted himself high into the air. He reached his arm out quickly, catching the Frisbee in his right hand. As he fell back to the ground, he examined the object. His eyes sparkled, and he lifted his eyes to make contact with Jay’s. He read the paper that Jay had taped to the Frisbee out loud.

“Free cake for 5 years???” Cole exclaimed, fighting the large grin that rose to his face. “Dude, how did you even get this?”

Jay snickered quietly to himself, just like the little devil he was, and patted his friend on the back. “Cole, buddy, there are some things of this world you will never understand. That coupon, for example.”

“Tell me your secrets,” Cole laughed, following Jay down the hill to where the rest of their friends were gathered around several large picnic baskets.

Nya looked up from her sandwich and smiled brightly at the two ninja, waving them over. “Hey, you two,” she smiled. “Want something? I’ve got plenty of food here.”

“I think we overstocked,” Skylor laughed as she ran her hand over her stomach. “I am so full…how are we gonna get through all this?”

“Look out, cake monster coming through,” Kai joked as he nibbled from his own piece of said cake. “Cole will take care of it.”

“I thought you said your body was a temple, Cole,” Nya pointed out.

“That was before I got thrown into a wasteland with a bunch of Dragon Hunters and absolutely no cake. I learned a seriously important life lesson there. Don’t. Give. Up. Cake.”

“Noted,” Nya shrugged as she returned to her meal.

There was still a bit of questioning and uncertainty – maybe even worry- in the air about what had happened the last few weeks after Garmadon’s resurrection. Cole, Zane, Jay, Kai, and Wu had been thought dead for weeks, and the Resistance’s efforts to…well…resist Garmadon had taken a lot out of the other half of the team. Even though all of that was over, the conversation still had hardly come up yet.

Since Ninjago’s restoration after Garmadon’s rule, Skylor and PIXAL had joined the team as official members, and the veteran ninja welcomed them with open arms. Dareth offered to join as well, but…Lloyd respectfully declined his offer. A few weeks with him on the Resistance team was enough for the young Master.

“I gotta say,” Nya peeped up, wiping her hands with a napkin. “That stolen bank truck pursuit yesterday- you did an amazing job on that one,” she pointed at the redhead across from her. “We should have put you on the team years ago.”

_Not like I didn’t try to help out with the whole Vermillion thing_ , Skylor thought to herself. She discarded this thought quickly and smiled at the Water Ninja. “Thanks, car chases are really fun.”

“On this crazy team, you’ll be seeing a lot of those,” Kai laughed.

“It’s a shame Wu couldn’t join our picnic lunch,” PIXAL spoke sadly. “I know he would have loved the salad. Do you have any idea what he may be doing instead, Master Lloyd?” PIXAL looked over at the Green Ninja, who was currently looking off into the distance. “Master Lloyd?”

“Oh, what?” Lloyd suddenly spoke, spinning around to face the android. “Sorry. He’s probably trying to get things caught up with his studies.”

“And your mom,” Jay whispered, gaining a whack across the back of the head from Nya.

“You seem distracted,” Zane spoke at last. “Distant. Is there something wrong, Lloyd?”

The blonde looked almost puzzled for a moment before he smiled and shook his head, shrugging his arms. “I don’t know, I’m probably just a bit tense from everything. I mean, it’s only been a few weeks, right?” He laughed, but most of the people in his company identified it as forced and fake. “Every time I see a motorcycle I tense up. Just a habit I picked up from the SoG, I guess.” He looked down to one of the baskets and rummaged through its contents.

“Fair enough,” Skylor spoke as she felt the air around them grow thin. “That makes total sense. Sometimes I still think I can see some of my dad’s cultists out of the corner of my eye. All the fighting does stuff to you.”

The others knew Lloyd a bit better. They knew there was more to it. But seeing as it wasn’t the best time, they resumed their lunch and thought nothing of it.

* * *

After lunch, the team packed up the leftovers and returned to the Royal Palace to do the only thing they spent hours doing since what happened – cleaning. The bombing of the palace had destroyed much of the elegant beauty of the building, but the basic build and structure of the palace had remained semi intact. After many weeks of working, and with the help of many friends and allies, the palace was quickly being restored, and it was almost nearly back to its original glory. Just a bit of touch up on the inside rooms and everything would be good as new.

“Why are we even back here?” Jay questioned as he rested his hands on his hips and looked around the main entrance room. “It’s basically finished.”

“Well, it’s basically not,” Kai rolled his eyes.

“I mean, the Royal Family are all dead, so, what is this building even going to be used for?” Skylor asked, gaining a few nods from the others.

“In a few months, maybe a year, the people will agree on a new family to take the throne,” Lloyd exclaimed as he grabbed a broom from a nearby closet. “The Emperor and Empress really didn’t have much extended family. At least, not any live family.”

“What about Harumi?” said Jay as he wiped his tired eyes. “Didn’t she have any siblings? Maybe some cousins?”

“She was adopted, Bluebell,” Cole sighed in exasperation.

“Oh right,” Jay nodded, laughing awkwardly. “I knew that.”

“If she had at some point taken the throne and become Empress, then yes, someone directly related to her would be in line for the throne,” Zane explained. “It can be confusing when putting an adopted princess into the picture, but then again, it’s never happened before.”

“Can we just stop talking about Harumi, please?” Nya groaned, obviously still hateful towards the Quiet One. “She’s dead, there’s no use talking about her.”

A few of the ninja took hesitant glances towards Lloyd, watching his expressions. They knew that Harumi was still a bit of a stressful topic for Lloyd. Nya noticed this not long after.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Lloyd,” she apologized awkwardly. “I know how you cared about her.”

Lloyd just ignored Nya altogether and started walking further down the hallway. The others soon followed along. Jay looked around the palace before his eyes widened and he rushed over to an area where a door used to be. Now it was replaced with soot and ash.

“Whoa, why has this room never been worked on?”

The others rushed over to take a look, and sure enough the entire room was untouched. It was still as damaged and ruined as any of the palace before they started cleaning. Ripped cloth, probably curtains, were laid across the floor, and the large queen size bed was blown to shreds, with remains of pillows and bedsheets all over.

“Wow, what a mess,” Kai shook his head in disbelief. “The walls are literally all coated black from the fire.”

As the members of the team conversed amongst themselves about the room, Lloyd stepped inside and he felt his heart sink for a moment. He knew deep down what room this was. _Rumi_. The girl who had manipulated him into falling for her beauty and charm, the girl who had betrayed his trust and resurrected his evil father, the girl who he had helplessly watched fall to her death on a collapsing skyscraper. _Gosh_ , Harumi had made Lloyd into a mess the last month or so. The others had never really felt remorse for her, at least not after her true intentions were revealed, but something about her had always pierced Lloyd in a way he normally didn’t like. It irritated him how deeply he had cared about her. Her bedroom was only another painful reminder of her.

Despite this, Lloyd continued through the room, his bare hand tracing the corners of her bed. He found a board in the floor sticking up, and he pulled at it for a moment before it ripped out. Underneath the board was something that Lloyd made out to be some sort of secret compartment. The explosion had clearly destroyed the hidden nature of it, leaving it for Lloyd to see. He bent down to look inside the hole that was only about as big as his head. It was too dark in the room that he really couldn’t see much, so his hands would have to do the searching. He ran his hands all around inside the hole until his fingers grazed against something cold and hard. When he had a good hold on it, he pulled it out. It was a small, velvet-backed book with no title and no printing on the front of back at all. He opened it for a moment and scanned his eyes over one of the pages quickly before closing it shut and shoving it into the front pocket of his hoodie.

“Hey, Lloyd, ya find anything in there?” Cole’s voice rang in from the doorway, or at least what was left of the doorway.

“Not much, Cole,” Lloyd answered quickly, almost too quickly. He walked back to the group and faked a smile as I gave everyone jobs to do. The palace would need another room repaired.

* * *

It was another several hours before the team finally returned to the recently rebuilt Destiny’s Bounty to have dinner. After eating, some of the team, save for Cole, Zane, Skylor, and Lloyd had gone off to bed. Skylor had talked the currently awake members into playing a card game with her, and it had dragged on longer than they expected as the clock ticked ten minutes past midnight.

Cole yawned as he waited for his turn, stretching his arms out and leaning his head back. “Wow, I am wiped. Can we just call it a game and go to bed?”

“That’s probably a good idea…” Skylor smiled lightly as she reached for all the cards. “I’ll put these back, and you all can go to sleep.”

“Hmm, I do want to make sure I go into power saving mode before I overuse my energy source playing cards,” Zane laughed to himself as he nodded in agreement. “Good night brothers. Skylor. Sleep well.” With that, the Nindroid moved to the stairs before his footsteps grew inaudible.

Cole soon left, and then Skylor, until Lloyd was alone sitting at the table. He waited for a few minutes, staring out the window at the rainy dark sky until he finally reached into his pocket and pulled out the book. Placing it on the table, he dusted it off to really get a good look at it. Sure enough, the cover was completely blank, made of old dark velvet leather. The pages themselves seemed to still be in decent condition. Lloyd waited for a moment before opening the book to the first page.

_October 21st, 2014_

_“I cannot take it anymore. The Emperor and Empress don’t understand how I feel. Being a princess is so stressful, and I just want life to be the way it used to be. I just turned 12, and already I’ve been given a bunch of other responsibilities. I don’t want to sound rude, but come on!” “Hutchins said that the kids at school would like me, but so far they’ve just ignored me every day. One kid thought he was gonna get hanged just cuz he accidently bumped into the Jade Princess. Give me a break.”_ _“The ninja are still something I think about often. One part of me screams that it was their fault my parents died, and the other part says it was an accident. It was the Great Devourer anyway, right? Surely, the ninja can’t save everyone, can they?” “On the other hand, I still feel this sense of hatred towards the ninja. They were my heroes, and they couldn’t save my parents. They could have tried harder, or done something differently. They could have stopped all of the Serpentine ahead of time!” “I’ve been trying not to think about it too much, but it’s difficult. I’ve been studying a lot of the ancient texts in the royal archives, and I’ve read a lot about Oni. More specifically, their home realm. Turns out, Lord Garmadon was an Oni. He killed the Devourer, didn’t he? Maybe if he were still alive, I could thank him. Maybe the world needs more people like him, and less ninja.”_

Lloyd looked up from the pages and thought intently of what he just read. It felt so strange and forbidden to be reading what was obviously Harumi’s old diary, but he felt compelled to read more. It seemed like he had found this book for a reason. He flipped through more of the book over the next few hours, reading page after page of Harumi’s thoughts. It soon became 4:30 in the morning when he came across an entry that made him stop in his tracks.

_June 3rd, 2018_

That was last month, Lloyd realized.

_“First Spinjitzu Master, help me now.”_

_"Garmadon is a terrible, horrible monster. I thought he would be a hero, a liberator, but all he’s ever done is make the lives of the people worse than ever. He’s so obsessed with finding Lloyd that he never even considers improving the city or making any changes. He just sits on his throne and barks orders. I thought he was supposed to be a Devourer killer.”_

_“Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. Last night, Garmadon tasked me with capturing Lloyd, and…I failed. The punishment was awful. He lifted me off the ground and choked me with his power. I only managed to survive because of my knowledge of the Resistance base’s location. He abuses me now, more than ever, whenever something doesn’t go according to plan. My sleeves can cover the cuts on my arms but not the ones on my neck.”_

_“I feel as if this has gone on for too long now. Garmadon isn’t bringing peace and order, he’s bringing chaos and death. I know that if I fail again, he will kill me.”_

_June 5th, 2018_

_“I’m writing this because I know I will never be able to write again. I’ve evaded my fate for as long as I can, but tonight I’m running away. From Garmadon, from Ninjago, from everything. Where I’ll go, I don’t know. The Elemental Master of Amber has absorbed Garmadon’s power, and I know it is only a matter of time until Garmadon kills me for letting myself get captured. I can hear the fighting going on already. I’ve packed my bags, but there really isn’t much to bring with me.”_

_“_ _I wish I had someone to go to, but the truth is that I don’t. I’m a wanted criminal now, and all my family, adopted or not, is gone. I surely can’t go back to the ninja, not to Lloyd…I couldn’t bear to see his hurt face again. Maybe I can start over, go under the radar and take on a new name and everything. Dye my hair, get a job, make myself invisible…oh, but that would only work for so long…”_

_“I’m going to have one of the bikers put this diary back in the secret hole in my old bedroom, so that if someone ever finds this, they can know how truly sorry I am. I’m to blame for all of this. I wish I could make this all up to everyone, and maybe if I get out of this alive, I can. Someone, anyone, tell Lloyd I’m sorry.”_

Lloyd felt his eyes fill with tears as he closed the book, setting it back down. He bit his lip and shut his eyes tightly, feeling his arms shake slowly. “Oh, Harumi…” he whispered. “If I had only known…” The tears fell and Lloyd let out a choking sob as he buried his face in his arms. “If I had only known, I would have done anything to help you…”

The clock ticked another hour, and as Lloyd finally ceased his crying, he slipped the diary back into his pocket and rushed out to the deck of the _Bounty_. The sun was rising over the mountains, making the sky glow a beautiful orange. The light wind blew by, and Lloyd let out a breath as he rested his body against the railing and looked over the land below. _Why do people have to die?_ Lloyd thought to himself bitterly. It seemed like a stupid question, especially for a Master to be asking himself, but he honestly didn’t care. _Why do people have to hurt, and be hurt? Why do people have to suffer?_ Images flashed through Lloyd’s mind. _Darkley’s Boarding School, the Serpentine, the Devourer, the Overlord, Chen, Morro, Garmadon, Harumi_ … All people who hurt or were hurt. Some were both.

Lloyd remembered clearly Harumi’s appearance in his mind, her kind blue eyes and pure white hair. After reading her diary, Lloyd could see her in a whole new light. It only made him more bitter in that he knew it was too late to help her. She had been sorry for what she did. She wanted to apologize to him for what she did, how she hurt him. Lloyd wished more than ever that he could turn back time. _The Reversal Blade_ …Lloyd thought, but he quickly discarded it. Messing with time was dangerous, let alone going back to a time when someone was still alive. And so Lloyd sat there bitter for another several hours until his team awoke.

* * *

Two months later, Ninjago had finally rebuilt itself. With help from Cyrus Borg, there were some technological advancements to really help prevent so much damage from invaders, and most of the people who had abandoned the city months before had finally moved back into their homes.

Wu had gone back into retirement once more, finally having the chance to settle down and run his tea shop again with Misako. The team were currently helping with just that when the mailman came to the shop with a package. Cole rushed out to retrieve it, and brought it inside to the others. “Lloyd, it’s for you.” He looked over at the blonde, who was sat at the counter taking an order.

“Oh yeah?” he nodded. “Just, uh…set it over here on the counter. I’ll open it later.”

Cole’s mouth opened as if he were about to speak, but he closed it again instead and did as Lloyd asked. The others also looked at Lloyd bewildered for a moment as the customer walked off with their drink, almost as if beckoning for Lloyd to go on.

Lloyd noticed the glances. “What? Is it something I said?”

“We’re all waiting for you to open the package, obviously!” Jay rolled his eyes. “You aren’t really going to _wait_ to open it, are you?”

Lloyd stared blankly at Jay for a moment, and then at the package before sighing. “ _Fiiiiine_ , Jay. I’ll open the package.” With that, he pulled out a small knife from one of the drawers and used it to cut the box open. He opened the flaps and peeked inside before pulling out a enveloped letter and a good sized bowling ball.

“What the-“ Kai raised a brow as he looked at the bowling ball. “Did you order this?”

“Nope,” Lloyd shrugged, running his hand along the back of his neck. “This is a surprise to me as much as it is to you, believe me.”

“Well then open the note,” Jay pointed out.

Lloyd rolled his eyes at the Lightning Ninja before opening the envelope and reading it out loud. “You are invited to be a special guest at the Annual Ninjago Bowling Tournament at Shi-Lin Alley. As thanks for you and your team saving the city, you’re all invited for reserved seating. The ball is a small portion of our thanks to you.” He put the note down and looked at the others.

“Bowling?” Skylor coughed. “Um, wow. That’s…fun.”

“Hey, reserved seating though,” Jay shrugged. “We get the special treatment.”

“I don’t get it,” Kai groaned.

“Why are they inviting us to a public bowling tournament that we can just go to without an invitation anyways?”

“It’s not public, Kai,” Zane assured him. “Shi-Lin Alley is the only private and extremely tight-opened bowling alley in the world. Competitions aren’t even aired on television. We should consider ourselves honored.”

“Shi-Lin Alley…” Cole mumbled. “That doesn’t ring a bell at all for me. Where is it?”

“Shi-Lin,” Zane spoke as if he expected that to be obvious. “As in the city of Shi-Lin.”

“Once again, never heard of it, Zane,” Cole shifted.

As the ninja talked amongst themselves, Lloyd looked down at a stamp on the paper. It was plastered in permanent red ink, and depicted a symbol he recognized almost instantly. _The Royal Palace_ …

That was it. Lloyd was going bowling.


	2. Lloyd's Decision

Upon entering Shi-Lin, the ninja had already been quickly barraged by a ton of fans and reporters asking unending questions and blinding their eyes with camera flash. Kai pointed out that they normally travelled into a city on their dragons rather than by simply walking in, but they all just discarded it as being overlooked. Even a few weeks of peace had rubbed off on the ninja a little.

Along with the reporters who approached the ninja, several merchants and salespeople yelled at them about their deals on clothing and fruit. Nya and Jay were distracted for a moment by a particular stand selling rare machine parts, but the others dragged them away.

“Oh, come on, Lloyd!” Jay whined as he looked back at the stand. “I’ve never seen parts that cheap before! I brought my wallet with me for a reason and-“

“Parts are usually only that cheap if they aren’t legit. Probably a bunch of knockoffs that won’t serve their purpose for more than a few days,” Lloyd shrugged as he continued pushing his way through crowds.

“Hey, has anyone seen Skylor?” Nya spoke up, causing the others to stop in their tracks. Each ninja’s head whipped all around frantically as they scanned the area for the Orange Ninja.

“I’m right here!” Skylor’s familiar voice called from behind a few tall men. As she maneuvered around them and faced the others, the ninja noticed the small pile of items in Skylor’s arms.

“Recipe books?” Zane analyzed the items quickly, folding his arms. “For what purpose?”

“I know I gave up on working in my father’s noodle house, but my passion for cooking has always been there,” Skylor smiled as she looked through the several books she had gathered. “I thought maybe I could try some new meals and see what happens.” “

Another great cook on the _Bounty?_ ” Jay exclaimed with a wide grin. “First Zane, now Skylor. I don’t think we’re ever gonna have a bad meal again.”

“Guys, keep your voices low,” Lloyd snapped back to the others, raising his right hand to gain their attention. “We don’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves.”

“Yeah, that boat sailed a long time ago,” Cole snickered. “We might as well take the easy route to the bowling alley.” With that, the Earth Ninja brought his hands to his chest before spinning around and allowing Airjitzu to overcome his body. He lifted off the ground and onto the roof of a nearby building structure before looking back down at his friends. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

The others followed Cole’s lead and began floating from roof to roof until eventually reaching a stop. Zane stood looking around for a moment.

“Hey, Zane, you alright?” Lloyd asked as he rested a hand on the Nindroid’s shoulder.

“I…yeah, it’s fine,” Zane nodded hesitantly. “I just thought I sensed something familiar.”

“Discarding that, we’re almost to our destination,” PIXAL informed the others as she scanned the area. “A few blocks north.”

“Let’s go,” Lloyd nodded as he hurried off, using Airjitzu to float across the gap between two more buildings. They finally stopped at one building that stood a bit taller than most of the others. The walls were painted a forest green with white trim, and retro neon lights spelled the words “Shi-Lin Alley.”

“Looks a bit bigger than I imagined,” Nya admitted. “I mean, it’s just bowling, right?”

“Not just any bowling alley, Nya,” Zane pointed out. “Shi-Lin Alley is the only private and tight-opened alley in-“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve heard it all before,” Jay groaned. “Let’s just head in and watch some bowling. Yay.” Jay pumped his fist into the air weakly, faking excitement.

As soon as the ninja entered inside, the inside was just what they expected. Around forty neat lanes all jetting off in one direction, on a slippery shiny floor. The building was filled with about fifty people, but none of them were dressed for bowling, at least not the professional sport.

“Ah, ninja!” a voice called from a few feet away. A rather large man sporting a suit and tie walked up to them. His messy jet black hair stood out the most about him, and his nose was uneven on one side. “I am so glad you made it. You know, the Mistress was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

“The Mistress…” Zane thought out loud. “Is she the one who sent us the invitation?”

“Yep,” the man nodded, extending his unnaturally large right hand to Lloyd. The Green Ninja stared at it for a moment as if not sure what to do, before shaking it with his own hand. “I’m Dave Spencer, and it’s so totally cool to meet you guys.”

“I’m Jay,” the ecstatic Lightning Ninja peeped up, gaining a few looks from his teammates.

“He knows who you are, dummy,” Kai smacked the younger ninja on the back.

“Well, if you don’t mind, guys, the Mistress asked me to have you come and see her when you arrived, so if you don’t mind…” Dave trailed off as he motioned towards a door at the end of the floor.

“Oh yeah, of course,” Lloyd blinked as he followed Dave, motioning for the others to follow along. As they entered through the door, the ninja were met with a small room that was slightly lit, but dozens of lights, possibly from computers and machines, stood out to them. In the center of the room, the ninja noticed a large chair, and it quickly spun around to face them. The lights suddenly all turned on as Dave shut the door behind them, and a woman dressed in a black and white kimono stood up out of the chair and looked at the ninja. She had long black hair and brown eyes, with an older yet strong figure. She seemed to be around sixty years of age, but Zane couldn’t be sure.

“Lloyd Garmadon,” the woman spoke softly, walking closer to him. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“You have, haven’t you?” Lloyd nodded. “Although no offense, but you aren’t what I imagined the host of the bowling tournament would dress like.” The woman smiled lightly in amusement, her fingers playing gingerly at the hilt of a sword sheathed at her hip. Lloyd had noticed this and watched it defensively.

“No, I am not associated with this event, nor do I care for it. This was simply the only way to get you here to talk to me.” Lloyd furled his eyebrows in confusion as he continued to watch the woman’s movements, especially around her sword.

“So what do you want from me?” The woman smiled again for a moment before her mouth became a straight line. “I have a proposition for you. I guess you could call it an offer.” She motioned towards another door.

“Enough rooms, we can talk about your offer here,” Lloyd spoke stubbornly.

“Oh, but the other room has quite a stunning wall painting,” the woman joked. “I understand, Master Lloyd. Talking here is fine. Your team may want to wait outside, however.”

Lloyd looked back at his team for a moment before shaking his head. “No, whatever you need to tell me, you can tell them. We’re a team.”

“Very well,” the woman shrugged. “First of all – formalities. I am Sensei Cleopatra Dorman, but I am otherwise known as the Mistress. I am the master of the Garden Rehabilitation Temple in Spinjago.”

“Spinjago?” Cole asked. “You mean that old mountain range off the coast?”

“We haven’t been there since that whole mind wiping thing with Ronin and the Primal Fulcrum,” Jay pointed out. “I hated that week.”

Dorman nodded. “Yes, I was wondering if you’d be interested in taking company there for some time, Master Lloyd.”

“Thanks for the offer, but, I’m not really in need of rehabilitation or anything like that,” Lloyd laughed lightly. “Sorry. Right now, everything’s at peace.”

“On the outside shell, yes, but deep down inside, you’re worse than ever,” Dorman spoke lowly, causing Lloyd’s heart to skip a beat. The words seemed to shiver down his back as he considered what she said.

“Uh, that’s interesting and all, but we’re not gonna give you our leader for however long you want,” Kai scoffed, folding his arms. “Last time we split up, it didn’t go so hot.” He laughed as he put a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. “You aren’t going to actually go with this lady, are you?” He stopped laughing as he watched Lloyd’s expression. “ _First Spinjitzu Master_ , you had better not be considering it.”

Lloyd continued staring off into space as thoughts swirled around in his mind. Dorman smiled. “It’s natural to be perplexed about these kinds of things. I assure you that once you’re settled at the Temple, you’ll feel more alive than you ever have.”

Lloyd thought in silence for another moment before he finally let out the breath he hadn’t noticed he was holding and spoke.

“I’ll think about it.”

* * *

Back at the _Bounty_ , the ninja hurriedly informed Wu about what had happened at the bowling alley, and the old Master was astonished.

“What did you say her name was again?” Wu’s eyes widened and he stroked his long beard as he looked out the window.

“Cleopatra Dorman,” Nya said as she drew closer to the old man. “Have you heard of her?”

“Yes, I once knew her, many years ago. She was a young student I had once been in company with.”

“You had another student we never knew about?” Jay asked, bewildered. “Like Morro?”

“No, she was not my student, Jay,” Wu shook his head. “Now be quiet while I’m talking. Cleopatra Dorman was a student of another Master like myself, but he is no longer with us.”

Cole’s eyes widened. “Master Yang?”

“Very good, Cole,” Wu nodded. “Although after Yang’s failed attempt at controlling the Yin Blade, Cleopatra was turned into a ghost much like her peers and tied to the temple for years. I assume that after you restored Yang’s students back to their mortality, Cole, Cleopatra went on to teach others in what she learned from Yang.”

“That was like, what? Three, maybe four years ago?” Jay pointed out, scratching his head. “That was one _weird_ Day of the Departed.”

“Jay, what did I say about being quiet?” Wu rolled his eyes. “Now shush. The Garden Rehabilitation Temple is a very secretive group, who practice the arts of healing the body, soul, and mind through meditation and other such methods. I’ve never been there myself, so I won’t be able to tell you what you’ll find there, Lloyd.”

“You’re actually gonna go, Lloyd?” Skylor asked.

“Why not?” Wu shrugged. “Cleopatra was a good friend of mine, and I know she won’t do any harm by taking Lloyd from us for a few weeks or so. In this time of peace, it will be good for you to meditate and spend some time self-reflecting, Lloyd. Of course, it’s your choice.”

Lloyd simply nodded and headed off to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Lloyd was packing his bags. Misako was probably the saddest of all of them to see her son go, but she continually assured him that she approved of his decision. Lloyd only packed what Wu assured him he would need: a few pairs of clothes, his ninja gi, a few photos and personal possessions (this included Harumi’s diary that Lloyd only knew about), and his cell phone. Top that off with Lloyd’s weapon holster sheathing his twin katanas, and he was ready to leave.

“See ya later bro,” Kai gave Lloyd a fistbump as the group came together outside the parked _Bounty_. “Don’t bore yourself too much with Miss Meditation.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes but smirked at Kai’s joke anyways. “Thanks, Kai.”

“See ya later, Lloyd,” Cole gave the blonde a quick hug, which felt a bit stronger than normal. Lloyd assumed it was because of his super strength. “I’ll make sure to keep the others in check while you’re gone.”

“Thanks, Cole,” Lloyd nodded. “It means a lot.”

Jay, Nya, and Skylor all gave Lloyd a hug all at once, causing the Green Ninja to stumble back a bit. “Hey, guys, I’ll miss you too.”

Zane and PIXAL stood to the side smiling at Lloyd. “Enjoy your time at the temple, Lloyd,” Zane said. “I hope you feel much better when you return.”

Lloyd nodded in return and pulled out his car keys from his pocket. He unlocked the Ninja Nightcrawler and threw his bags into the back before opening the cockpit and jumping inside. He took one last look at his team, his _family_ , before shutting the cockpit and driving off. Pulling out onto the interstate, Lloyd let out a long sigh not knowing what was on the path ahead of him.

 


	3. Watching the Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "War is when the government tells you who the bad guy is. Revolution is when you decide that for yourself."  
> -Benjamin Franklin

As soon as Lloyd pulled his car into parking, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.  He was surprised that the temple had a spiral path all the way up the mountain, but he wasn’t complaining.  The pain in his stomach wasn’t from that, though.  It was from all his nervousness and hesitation.  He could tell without feeling his forehead that he was sweating.

_Why am I so worried?_ Lloyd asked himself as he pulled his bags out of the Nightcrawler.  _I’m never this nervous when I’m speaking in **public!**   _He shook off the thought and shut the cockpit of his car, hearing the doors lock with a _beep!_

With one bag slung over his right shoulder and the other in his left hand, Lloyd walked slowly through the marble courtyard towards a long flight of stairs that led to the entrance.  Two young adults, a man and a woman, stood to the side sparring against each other.  They wore long white silky robes down to their knees, showing off the combat boots they wore on their feet.  On their foreheads, they wore black bands much like the one Lloyd wrapped around his ninja hood, with a white symbol on the front.  The woman’s eyes quickly shifted in Lloyd’s direction confirming that she noticed him there, but she made no sound about it.  The same could be said about the man.

Lloyd continued walking up the long flight of stairs until he reached the top.  As he approached the large front doors, an older man wearing a black kimono much like Sensei Dorman’s held up a hand to stop the Green Ninja.

“Who are you?” he asked with a bit of an accent to his voice, watching the blonde with a careful eye. 

“I am Lloyd Garmadon,” Lloyd explained as he undid his ninja hood to show his face.  “Sensei Dorman gave me an invitation.”

“Oh, of course,” the man nodded, standing to the side as he opened the doors.  Lloyd walked inside with a thankful smile, and looked around the large temple.

The walls and floor all seemed to be made of a pure white marble or quartz, but Lloyd couldn’t be sure.  Running down the hall hundreds of yards were beautifully sculpted water fountains, and many of the kimono or robe-clad people hung around them to converse.

“Master Garmadon,” a voice called out as a young man, seeming to be not too much older than Lloyd, rushed over to him.  He lifted his hood back, revealing his pale skin and long black hair.  “It’s so good to see you.  Sensei told us you would be joining.”

“Please, call me Master Lloyd or just Lloyd.  Garmadon is…not a name I like to use,” Lloyd smiled anyway and shook the boy’s hand.  “What’s your name?”

The boy looked confused for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.  “I…don’t really know.  I’m still trying to figure that all out.”

“What?” Lloyd voiced his confusion, but the boy simply walked off, leaving the Green Ninja’s questions unanswered.

“Lloyd Garmadon.  My study,” Sensei Dorman suddenly walked up into Lloyd’s view, gesturing for him to follow her.  He shrugged to himself and quickly followed behind.  As they both walked inside, Dorman pointed to a couple of chairs.

“You can pick whichever chair you like,” she spoke simply as she stood next to him.

Lloyd sat down in the closest chair to himself, and watched Dorman sit in the other.  She stood staring at him for a moment before her lips suddenly pursed and he could tell she was about to speak.

“Why are you here, Master Lloyd?” the question took Lloyd by surprise.  What could she mean by that?  She was the one who invited him, wasn’t she?

“You…invited me,” Lloyd spoke slowly, unsure of how to respond. 

“That’s not why you came though, is it?” Dorman smiled, confusing Lloyd even further.  “Deep inside, you knew you needed to come here.”

“Maybe…” Lloyd cocked his head to the side slightly.  “I guess I’ve been kinda stressed lately….”

“That’s not it either,” Dorman folded her hands together as she looked at him even deeper.  She seemed to be watching his every movement, reading his expression.  “Why are you here, Master Lloyd?”

Lloyd stood there looking at her bewildered.  “Wha…how in the heck?”  He looked around the room as if something there would give him the answer.  “I…I don’t know!”

“Yes, you do,” Dorman nodded, standing up and beckoning for him to do the same.  “I will show you what we do here and when we are done, you will understand why you’re here.”  She walked out a different door, and Lloyd followed.

As they walked throughout the massive halls, Lloyd observed even more of the water fountains and expensive artifacts and sculptures.  As they walked past one in particular, Lloyd stopped.  “Is that…my grandfather?”  Sure enough, it looked just like the First Spinjitzu Master, at least from pictures Lloyd had seen.

“Yes,” Dorman smiled.  “Who do you think built this temple?  Surely, not I,” she laughed.  “After his passing, his students carved a statue of him as a thank you for his great teachings, and to remind everyone of his immense power.”  She walked up to the statue.  “I met him once.  Briefly.  It was only a few months before his passing.  We ran into each other in the medical station after a long battle against foreign invaders.  Your grandfather loved this world.  He’d do anything to protect it.”

“He split Ninjago in two,” Lloyd nodded, “to keep the Overlord and the Stone Army from crossing over.”

“Yes, when I was a student of Master Yang, I’d study for hours on the Prophecy and the Balance.  It always intrigued me.  I wonder how much you really know about it.” She smiled almost coyly at Lloyd, and he wondered what she could be considering.

“The balance between good and evil,” Lloyd shrugged.  “The Oni and the Dragon.  The Art of the Golden Dragon.  I’ve heard of and experienced it all before.”

“To its fullest?” Dorman questioned him.  “I don’t think so.  Look over here, at the pool.”  She walked over to a large inground pool, in the shape of a massive square.  The water inside was crystal clear and perfectly calm.  Dorman proved this by jutting her hand through the water and watching it cause no waves or ripples at all.  It simply bent to her will and then restored to normal when she pulled her hand away.

“It’s…interesting,” Lloyd rose a brow as he watched her.  “Do the water fountains do the same thing?”

“No,” Dorman shook her head with a smile.  “This is the Water of Healing, Master Lloyd.  Masters who’ve studied the waters for hours every day have learned so much that they could never put to words if they wanted to teach it.  It’s simply something that every soul must experience for themselves.  Why don’t you take a look?”

Lloyd waited for a moment before nodding his head and silently kneeling down at the edge of the pool.  He stared into the water carefully, but found nothing there.  “Sensei Dorman, there’s nothing-“ he cut himself off as a red and black fog began to grow in the water, rapidly getting closer to him.  “Do you see that?”

“All I see is water, Master Lloyd,” Dorman shook her head.  “Whatever it shows to you now is for you alone to see.”

Lloyd just nodded slowly as he continued to watch the fog.  It soon took over the entire pool, and Lloyd had to rub his eyes to convince himself he wasn’t seeing things.  Deep in the darkness he could see a link of chains, slowly swinging from side to side.  In the middle, there was a figure crouched, hugging their knees as if they were afraid of something.  On one side of the chain link was the image of a dragon, and on the other side was an Oni in its rightful place.  It was then that Lloyd realized the man in the middle was him, and the chain resembled the Balance. 

The chain swung more violently as the Oni fought to break its way through the chains, while the dragon tried it’s hardest to hold the chains together.  The man inside the chains (Lloyd) was helplessly jostled around in the heat of the battle.  A green light erupted from him that sent the dragon and Oni far away from Lloyd’s vision, until the chains and himself were all he could see.

“What do you see now?” Dorman spoke softly from behind Lloyd.

The Oni soon reemerged onto the scene, and fought against the chains even more than before.  The figure of Lloyd attempted to withhold the Balance until…the Oni broke the chains and pulled Lloyd in.  With the chains broken, the entire pool grew dark, and that same figure of Lloyd reappeared.  This time, his appearance was altered, and he stood side by side with the Oni, while the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m going to become evil?” Lloyd’s eyes widened and the vision instantly ended, the pool turning back to normal. 

“Perhaps,” Dorman said simply, staring off into the distance.

“You can’t say ‘perhaps’, that’s not even a solid answer,” Lloyd shook his head in disbelief.  “I saw it in my vision!  Am I going to turn evil?”

“Only if you allow it,” Dorman looked at Lloyd thoughtfully before turning away and walking off.  “No future is set in stone, Master Lloyd.  That’s all the more reason to take advantage of the here and now.”

As she continued to walk off, Lloyd felt something graze his shoulder, and he swung around to face the person.  He quickly stood relieved as he recognized the boy to be the one from earlier who had forgotten his name.

“Oh, hey,” Lloyd managed to form a smile.  “It’s you again.”

“Sensei Dorman has asked me to take you to your new bedroom in the temple.  I’m sure you’ll find it very well-suiting.  Do you need help with your bags?” He pointed to Lloyd’s luggage that had been left at the side of the pool.

“Thanks, that would be nice,” Lloyd nodded.  The boy grabbed the bags and the two walked off to the living quarters.

* * *

Back in Ninjago, Wu had taken no time in giving the remaining ninja more missions and tasks.  Zane and Cole had been sent to Kryptarium Prison to check on the newest inmates.  Of course, those inmates were the Sons of Garmadon.

As soon as the Ice and Earth Ninja entered into the prison, they were met with many dirty glances and criminals cursing at them under their breath.  Entering into the “Extremely Dangerous” section of the prison didn’t help things.

As Cole walked slowly down the hall, passing dozens of locked up SoG members, he was caught off guard by an insane laugh that he unfortunately knew all too well. 

“Hello, Rocky, how’s it hanging?” Ultra Violet sneered with a stupid grin on her face as she poked her head out through the bars.  “Didn’t expect your dear old Master Wu to send you to check up on me, but hey I’m not disappointed…” she smirked.

Cole _hated_ that smirk.

“Remind me to let the guards know you need thicker bars so no one gets the misfortune of having to see your annoying smirk again,” Cole folded his arms, but still watched her as she lightly banged against the cell bars with her fingernails.  “Actually, they may as well just put a brick wall here, cuz you’re not getting out anytime soon.”

“Oh, come on, Cole, you know I’m just having my fun,” Violet laughed as she looked around the prison.  “No offense, but maybe if you put me in some kind of tropical island prison, I’d feel more loved.”

“If it were up to me, I would have put you in a deep, dark hole and left you there,” Cole assured the harpy.  “Too bad the Cursed Realm is destroyed, cuz that would also work pretty well.”

“Cole,” Zane set a cold, metal hand on the Earth Ninja’s shoulder.  “We’re not here to talk, just to do a quick checkup.  Let’s move on.”

“Awwwww, did I distract you from your work?” Ultra Violet tilted her head in mock guilt.

“You scrawny little-“

“ _COLE!”_ Zane shouted as he grabbed his friend’s arm and pulled him away.  “Language!”

“How do you know I was going to swear?” Cole chuckled sheepishly.

“I’m a Nindroid, Cole.”

“Fair enough.”

* * *

“Here’s your new room!” The boy exclaimed as he opened the door and allowed Lloyd to walk inside.  The walls were painted white, and the floor was a hard wood, but there was a seemingly comfortable bed near the large window.  There were a few dressers and cabinets for Lloyd to store his belongings in, as well as a small bathroom to the side.

“It’s great, thanks,” Lloyd nodded as the boy handed him the keys.  He entered inside the room and closed the door shut.  With that, he finally collapsed onto the bed and let out a long exasperated sigh.  This was going to be a long few weeks, he could already tell. 

He finally restored enough strength and removed himself from the bed, moving to his luggage to get everything put away in their appropriate places.  He placed all of his normal clothes in the dresser, while his ninja gi was hung in the closet.  His weapons bag containing his katanas was moved underneath his bed.  His personal belongings remained in a small backpack that he kept by his bedside. 

He sat back down on the bed and went through the amount of things he had brought.  His cell phone, a small shuriken that should have been put in the weapons bag, and dozens of photos of friends and family.  He pulled out one in particular that he had seen dozens of times before.  It was actually the photo he had recovered from the remains of the _Bounty_ after the Colossus destroyed it.  There was Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, and Wu.  And in the middle was Lloyd when he was much younger and still learning to be a ninja.  His family had a grown a bit since the photo was taken, but Lloyd treasured it all the same.  He made a mental note to update the photo with PIXAL, Skylor, and Misako when he got back.

He flipped quickly through the other photographs.  There was one of him and some of the other Elemental Masters, one of the team’s smiling faces when they had first moved into the Temple of Airjitzu, and a ton more.  One slipped out that Lloyd really wished he had left behind.  The final photograph, on the bottom of the pile, was one of Lloyd and Harumi, smiling as they had their arms around each other’s shoulders.  In that series of days that felt like weeks that Lloyd thought he’d known the real Harumi…this made him think of the diary.  He slipped his hand back inside the bag, and sure enough Harumi’s diary was there.

Lloyd felt tempted to open it again and read Harumi’s thoughtful words, but stopped himself.  He had read it once, and he was alright with that.  Still, he found himself running his fingers along the velvet cover for a moment before finally putting it back into the bag.  That feeling of regret was still very much there.

He looked at the clock.

_9:50_

Lloyd decided to try his best not to think about Harumi as he slipped into bed, but he didn’t fall asleep until a couple of hours after.

 


	4. The Other Ninja

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I really put this on hold for a while...
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this shorter chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently.

Lloyd woke to the eerie sound of male voices singing rather…horribly.  Knowing that it was coming from the mens’ showers, he rolled his eyes and then rolled his body out of bed.  His alarm clock hadn’t gone off yet, so he turned it off so that it never did.  He changed into his ninja gi, because it was the closest thing he had to the robes everyone else wore, and exited his bedroom. 

It was already day five of Lloyd’s stay at the Temple of Rehabilitation, and while Sensei Dorman had helped him to find some common ground with the visions he had seen, he wasn’t making that much progress, and certainly not with any speed.  The previous two days had proven that, with Lloyd helplessly meditating and finding…nothing.

Some of the other students were always encouraging him, which definitely brightened Lloyd’s spirit.  Despite not making much progress, he had quickly begun to feel at home in the temple, and enjoyed the fellowship of the others.  The water fountains were already his favorite place to meet up with people, and the salt pretzels that the cooks made were absolutely heavenly in Lloyd’s mind.

Still, he missed his family back home, and had decided to send them letters every so often letting them know how things had been going since he couldn’t get much phone reception to call or text. 

As he walked into the dining hall, he was instantly greeted by dozens of kind faces welcoming him in.  He knew some of their names already. 

Ten’Ling was the raven-haired sweetheart who was always cheery and always seemed to make everyone smile.  She was clearly in a close relationship with Joshua, one of the other students Lloyd was friends with, but she always acted as if people were crazy when they insinuated it.

Joshua was…an interesting character.  Born of a family of great samurai, he already had that fiery determination that reminded Lloyd somewhat of Kai or Seliel. 

And speaking of Seliel, she too had at some point joined the fellowship of the temple before Lloyd.  The two had met in the laundry hall a few days before and quickly caught up. 

These three people were already seated together at the end of one table, and Lloyd made his way over to them.

“Hey, look who it is,” Seliel noticed him walking over before the others, smiling up at him.  She ran her hand through her pink hair, staring back down at her meal.  _Mac’n’cheese,_ Lloyd noticed.  “Did you sleep any better?” Seliel asked.

“I slept alright, I guess,” Lloyd nodded. 

After a moment of silence, Ten’Ling dropped her fork and looked at Lloyd with a disapproving look.  “You’re not getting up.  You’re just sitting here.  You’re gonna go another day without eating breakfast!  Look at you, Lloyd, you’re getting too skinny.”

Seliel choked on her glass of milk while she tried not to laugh.  “ _Lloyd?  Skinny?_   Ling, even if he is losing weight, I don’t think skinny is the word you’re looking for.  He’s got a bit too much muscle to be called skinny.”  She reached over and pinched Lloyd’s arm.

“ _Ow_!” Lloyd groaned as he pulled his arm back.  “You’re calling me fat now?”  he joked.

“When I say muscle, I mean _good_ muscle, you dork.” Seliel shook her head and once more lifted her glass to her lips.

“Good muscle?” Ten’Ling nudged Seliel’s shoulder. 

“Whatever, you try putting it into good words,” Seliel fired back.  “He’s _not_ fat, and he’s _not_ skinny.  He’s…I dunno…”

“Muscular?  Firm?  Rugged?  Strapping?” Ten’Ling teased the younger girl.

“Strapping-“ Seliel stuttered.  “Who says _strapping_ anymore?  No, I mean he’s…yeah, whatever, he’s muscular.  But not like in _that_ way or anything…I’m dating Cole- This is a stupid conversation!”

“You started it,” Ten’Ling pointed out as she returned to her meal.

“And you made it into a stupid conversation,” Seliel muttered.

“ _Anywaaaaay,”_ Joshua cleared his throat.  “I’m headed out to the basketball court after this.  Anyone wanna come?”

“Sure, maybe then Seliel can watch muscular and strapping Lloyd Garmadon shoot some hoops,” Ten’Ling smirked.

“Shut up!” Seliel groaned as she walked off. 

* * *

Back at the _Bounty,_ things were a bit crazy with the arrival of the ship’s newest members: Ray and Maya. 

They had moved in for a few months until they could find a new home after their last few houses were destroyed either by Time Blade-obsessive Vermillion warriors or by the Sons of Garmadon and the Colossus.  

Kai had been ecstatic about his parents joining the group, while Jay was frightened of the thought of living with his girlfriend’s parents.  The tension was on. 

“You’ll be fine, Jay,” Nya assured her nervous boyfriend as she gave him a little nudge.  The two ninja watched as Ray and Maya brought their luggage to their new bedroom.  “My parents _love_ you!  You’ll see!  My dad has already told us that he approves…”

“But what if that changes?” Jay sighed, staring at the wooden deck.  “What if he changes his _mind?_ Do I now have to be perfect in his eyes?”

“Of course not, Jay,” Nya shook her head with a smile, clutching his hand in hers.  “Besides, you’re already perfect in my eyes.  And that’s what matters, right?” She gave him a quick kiss before getting up and walking away to her parents.  “See ya, Jay.”

“See ya, Nya.”

* * *

Lloyd found himself once again staring into the Pool of Reflection for answers, but once again he found nothing there.  He decided to call it a day and retreat back to the library for some peace and quiet.

The library in the temple was much larger than most Lloyd had been in, and it easily compared to great ancient libraries like Domu.  However, while this library didn’t have its own _Scroll of Airjitzu,_ it had its own highlight in the form of its beautiful interior.  Lloyd couldn’t really explain it, but the entire place had a certain feel of its own that felt amazing.

So, Lloyd went there often, just to be alone.

Stepping inside the large room and walking over to his usual area where he sat, he was met with a few friendly faces…as always.  Lloyd sometimes found it oddly creepy how everyone seemed to _always_ be smiling, especially the high-ranking students.  Surely, reading books, meditating, and staring into a pool for hours couldn’t be _that_ enjoyable.

“Looking for something, or just here to relax as usual?” The librarian – whose name was Susan, Lloyd had discovered – asked him with another one of those common smiles.

“I don’t know,” Lloyd shrugged jokingly as he continued to walk further into the library.  He scanned a few shelves before pulling out a few books that even slightly piqued his interests and took them over to his normal chair.

However, someone was _in_ his normal chair.  Someone who wasn’t supposed to be there, as far as Lloyd knew.

Sitting there clad in full black and red armor with plates running all the way down his body was a warrior with a helmet that covered his face.  The armor completely covered the person’s body, and they quickly noticed Lloyd standing above them.

**_“~Hello~”_** The warrior croaked out through his helmet.  It made the person’s voice feel cold and low, nearly sending a shiver down Lloyd’s spine.  **_“~Please go back to your business.~”_**  And with that, the warrior turned away from the Green Ninja.

“Um…okay…” Lloyd rose a brow and slowly walked off, deciding to put the books back except for one that he kept under his arm.  He sat in a different chair far from the warrior, but close enough that he could watch from the distance.  It wasn’t normal for a student to be wearing black armor, let alone inside the temple in such a formal setting. 

Lloyd pretended to be reading his book while watching the warrior. 

After a few moments, the armor-clad person shifted and stood up, and Lloyd watched with anxious concern as the warrior’s hand roamed down to his hip.  Lloyd grew even further concerned when the warrior began walking over to him.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Lloyd asked as the space between him and the stranger grew scarily smaller.

In one swift motion, the warrior pulled out a black hilt from his side, and a sharp long blade extended from it.  He went in for the killing stab, and just missed Lloyd’s neck by a centimeter.  The Green Ninja had instantly noticed the movement and had moved out of the way, and he now stood with his fists clenched with a green glow as the warrior prepared to strike again.

**_“~Stay still and I promise you a quick death.~”_** The warrior spoke, changing his stance and raising his weapon into the air.

“Yeah, right,” Lloyd muttered under his breath as he ran at the warrior with full speed, the green energy of his elemental power trailing behind him.  He landed a strong blow to the warrior’s stomach, managing to knock him back a bit despite the protective armor.

The stranger doubled back and spun around Lloyd, attempting to jab him from behind.  Lloyd executed a backflip and landed behind the warrior, sending an energy sphere rocketing towards his opponent’s back.  The warrior fell to the floor with a marled cry, and Lloyd once again summoned his power into his hands in case he tried to get back up.

“Stay down!” Lloyd shouted as he continued to watch the warrior’s every movement.  “Someone!  I need some help here!” He looked around only to find the librarian and her associates approaching with blades of their own, very clearly intended for Lloyd.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on here?” Lloyd began walking backward, forming another set of energy spheres.  The other attackers ran closer, their weapons poised as Lloyd looked around desperately for a way out.  The warrior had recovered as well, drawing his weapon once more.

**_“~Too late for the quick death,~”_** he mused.

The warrior jumped forward, landing on his palms and launching into the air where he regained his form and sent his weapon down at Lloyd.  Just inches from the Green Ninja’s face, the katana cut into the floor, sticking itself there.

The warrior simply left the weapon where it was and raised his fists, but Lloyd had been given enough time to perform a counterattack.  Landing a burst of green energy straight at his opponent’s chest, Lloyd used the knockback to kick him in the same spot, then punched him in the helmet.  The warrior fell to the ground, and Lloyd lightly blew on his knuckle from the shear pain of flesh meeting metal. 

Lloyd had forgotten about the other warriors, who quickly drew out their weapons and backed him into a corner.  One of them pulled out a long metal staff with a sparking tip, and Lloyd’s eyes widened as he realized what it was for.

_Zzzzzap!_

The staff was stabbed right into Lloyd’s stomach, the electricity enveloping Lloyd’s body.  He fell to the floor and tried to summon his element, only to have the staff jabbed into his right arm.  It didn’t pierce any flesh, but it left a nasty burn.

Lloyd managed to fire another energy sphere at the locked doors of the library, causing both the wind and the commuting voices from outside to make their way inside. 

“Help!” Lloyd normally would feel foolish for saying such a word, but in this case he would rather get his thunder stolen than get electrocuted to death.

Managing to flip back onto his feet, Lloyd kicked the staff out of the warrior’s hands, and it rolled across the floor underneath a bookcase.

The warriors looked at each other for a moment while Lloyd sprinted off to grab it.  As he approached the bookcase, Lloyd could feel the warrior from before grabbing his shirt from behind, dragging him back.

“Ninjaaaa- _GO!”_ Lloyd quickly spun into a Spinjitzu tornado, knocking the warrior several feet away.  He dispelled of it, grabbing the staff and breaking it in half with his knee.  Once again, metal hitting flesh hurt, but it was necessary.  The torn pieces fizzled and sparked until they shorted out, and Lloyd threw them to the floor.

“What is going on here?” Sensei Dorman’s usually calm voice cried out viciously as she entered the library.  Everyone seemed to freeze at the shout, looking at the old master.  “Master Lloyd, what is the meaning of this?”  She seemed be just as surprised by the newcomers in the library.

“I don’t know, but they tried to kill me,” Lloyd shrugged as he continued to stand in a fighting stance, watching the enemy.

“Walking onto these grounds without an invitation is forbidden!” Dorman’s eyes narrowed, and she pressed a switch underneath the librarian’s desk.  An alarm went off, and soon about a dozen guards entered the room.

“Seize these intruders,” Dorman pointed to the other people in the library, and they quickly ran over with handcuffs.

**_“We’re not losing this.  Not now.”_** The first warrior spoke as he knocked the guards back, running off.  The other intruders followed him, and they escaped through a window. 

“I’m losing my touch,” Lloyd shook his head as he brushed off his gi.  “They got away too easily.”

“There’s nothing you could have done to help, Master Lloyd,” Dorman assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder.  “And don’t worry about your ‘touch’.  Your time in meditation is equally as important.  Now, let’s go back to our business, and I’ll inform the Ninjago City Police Department of this attack.”

“Who were they?”  Lloyd questioned.

“We don’t know.  They have no name, and no real goal from what we can tell.  All they do is sneak into the temple like this and harass students.  I have a new job for you, Green Ninja.  Track these people down, and find out what they want.”

With that, Dorman walked off, and Lloyd stood alone in his thoughts.  He looked over the messy library, at the books on the floor, and the broken window. 

_Why does this feel like the Sons of Garmadon all over again?_

****

****

****

****

****

 

 


	5. Nowhere

_“Who are you?”_

_“Where’d you come from?”_

Lloyd was pressured by Dorman to continually ask himself these questions over and over again while he stared into the Pool of Reflection.  It was honestly beginning to tick him off.

_I’m Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon.  Son of Lord Garmadon and Misako.  What else is there to say?_

_“What importance do you have?”_

Lloyd actually spent a good deal of time thinking over this one, but he still didn’t find anything earthshattering about it.

_I’m the Green Ninja.  The Chosen One, I guess.  I’m supposed to balance the light and the dark._

“Couldn’t someone else do the same?” Dorman’s voice beckoned Lloyd from his thoughts, and he spun around to face her.

“You were reading my thoughts,” Lloyd spoke slowly.

“Yes, as I do anyone in this specific room of the temple,” Dorman nodded.  “This is a special place, Master Lloyd.  A place of wonder, and power.  You’re stressed.”

“Go figure,” Lloyd rolled his eyes and turned back to the pool.  “What else do you read?”

“A great deal of things,” Dorman’s response caused Lloyd to become curious, and he had a feeling she read that, too.  “You’ve just gotten out of a war a few months ago.  You experienced turmoil, loss, grief…”  Dorman sat down next to Lloyd.  “Those are feelings that you can’t simply bury inside forever.  One of these days it will force itself out, and it _won’t_ be pretty.”

“I witnessed a teenage girl helplessly fall to her death on a collapsing building,” Lloyd groaned, arching his back as the memories came flooding back.  “And then I found her journal, and all the sudden she went from the woman I hated back to the woman I actually cared for again.  But she’s dead, so what’s there to dwell on?”

Lloyd stood up to walk off, but Dorman stopped him.  “She did some wrong things, didn’t she?”  She continued to search Lloyd’s mind for more, and he could practically feel it.

“We all do, don’t we?”

“Yes, but she did some very… _questionable_ things.  Some things that hurt you,” Dorman stood up once more to face the blonde.  “Things she did out of anger and bitterness over how she had been hurt.  Ah, I see.”  Dorman closed her eyes as she continued to probe Lloyd’s mind.  “She lost her parents tragically at a young age.  She needed someone to blame, and she blamed _you.”_

“I thought we were supposed to be helping me move past my hurt,” Lloyd glared at her, “not open up old wounds and point out who’s to blame.”

“But the best way to heal wounds is to give them the proper treatment.  Find out what the cause was, and through that find the best treatment.  Otherwise, it can leave a scar,” Dorman spoke in a tone Lloyd didn’t particularly like.

“I’ve had my fair share of scars in my lifetime, what’s one more?” Lloyd continued to walk off, eager to burn off some steam in the training room.  “She’s dead, and I’ve moved on.”

As Lloyd walked off, Dorman simply stood there silently, watching him go.

* * *

“Nya, dear!” Ray’s voice called from upstairs, beckoning the Water Ninja to sigh and stand up from her current movie marathon with the other ninja.  “I need to talk with you, please.”

“Sorry guys,” Nya shrugged as she walked off in the direction of the stairs.  “Duty calls.  Just keep watching without me; this could be a while.”  She gave a small smile to Jay before ascending the stairs and fading from view.

“Jeez, Ray and Maya call Nya _all the time,_ ” Cole raised a brow, but still did not deviate his attention from the movie.  “What are they even having her do?  Fill the hot water tank for the showers?” He chuckled to himself, but found no laughter from the others in return.

“Nah, man, my parents just are going through some of me and Nya’s old photographs from years past.  Anytime they spot someone in the photo they remember or don’t remember, they call Nya up to remind them of who it is,” Kai took a sip from his Coke and reached for the remote to raise the volume.

“Why don’t they have _you_ ever do it?” Jay asked.

Kai shrugged, leaning back into the couch.  “I don’t know, but please don’t jinx it, Jay.  They probably just assume Nya has a better memory than I do.  She’s the only girl I know who can remember the name of literally every boring villager in Jamanukai.”

After a moment of silence, Zane spoke up at last.  “Has anyone noticed where P.I.X.A.L. has gone?  I miss her deeply, and she said she would be back in an hour.”

“Can’t you, like, track her or something?” Kai asked.

“Well, yes, but I’d rather not,” Zane shook his head.

“Why not?” Cole spoke up.

“Because even though I _can,_ I want her to be her own person.  I believe she should be able to go where she wishes without me knowing her every move,” Zane sighed, staring down at his hands.  “Despite how strongly I believe in this, it does not take away the worry.”

“She’ll be back soon, Zane, don’t worry,” Jay patted the Nindroid’s shoulder.  “She’s _Samurai X_.  She’s prepared for anything.”

“Besides, she was just going to the grocery store, right?” Kai pointed out.

“Not a grocery store, Kai,” Zane shook his head.  “The _black market._ Ronin said she could find some replacement parts there for her energy charger, but I fear she may be in for some trouble.  After all, it is a place that _Ronin_ suggested.”

“You know what?” Cole spoke after a moment of silence, standing up.  “Just to make you feel better, we’ll come with you to check on her.  _All_ of us.”  He gave a look to Kai and Jay, and the two other ninja reluctantly stood up to join.

* * *

“She’s just…a bit pushy,” Seliel searched for an explanation for her teacher’s previous encounter with Lloyd.  The Green Ninja was currently sat in a chair in Seliel’s dorm, while the Phantom Ninja sat beside him in another chair.  “Sometimes in order to get things done the right way you have to step out of your comfort zone a bit.  I’m sure she was just trying to help.”  When she still received now reaction from Lloyd, she decided to change the subject.

“So…any luck tracking down those _other_ ninja?” Seliel asked him, hoping to get _something_ out of the Master of Energy, but he still sat there silently.

He finally spoke.  “No.”

“Oh…do you want to talk about it?” Seliel looked at the clock, convincing herself that she had nothing else to do anyway.  Hopefully she could calm Lloyd down before bed.

….

….

….

“No.”

“Well, when you’re done being all _dark and brooding_ , let me know,” Seliel pushed Lloyd towards the door, ushering him out.

Lloyd stopped her, turning to face the Phantom Ninja.  “Look, Seliel, I’m sorry.  I wasn’t trying to make you feel unwanted or anything.  I just…have a lot on my mind right now.  The mystery ninja mess just made me a bit tense.”

“It’s cool,” Seliel shrugged, she herself having many experiences with stress.  “You know what I do when I’m tense?  I go to the kitchen and make a sandwich.  Now march, soldier,” Seliel yawned and pushed Lloyd out the door, shutting it behind her.

* * *

As soon as Zane’s scanner picked up no trace of PIXAL in the black market, the Ice Ninja’s artificial blood grew colder than his element.  Beside him, Cole and Jay looked around while comforting their Nindroid brother, and Kai hurried off to ask strangers passing by if they had seen PIXAL.

So far, no luck. 

“Hey, is that her?” Jay stood up excitedly, pointing off into the distance, near a small hut.  The Lightning Ninja shot off towards the figure, but Zane’s expression never changed.

“It’s not her,” Zane shook his head.  “She’s not _here._ ”

“Did we come to the right market?” Cole asked, but at this point he was practically coming up with excuses off the bat, hoping for something that would calm his friend’s fears.

“This is the only black market in a 130 mile radius, and the only one Ronin recommended us to.”  Zane stood up and prepared to leave. 

“It’s hopeless.”

 

 

****

****

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I guess this isn't dead. Really wanna finish this, let me know if you guys want more of this or not


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